The brothers, Richie, Andrew and Josh, who often dance together, took to the stage at Autumn Graduation, not to dance, but to be capped, graduating side by side with Bachelor of Dance Studies degrees from the University of Auckland.

Any other career path was unlikely for the three siblings who have been surrounded by dance their whole lives. Jacqui is a celebrated dancer who owns and runs the Dance Studio in Sandringham, as well as teaching dance at Mt Albert Grammar.

In 2014 she received a Lifetime Award from the Tempo Dance Festival in recognition of her outstanding contribution to dance. Equally passionate about education, she encouraged her sons to study dance.

So it was fitting that Jacqui was there to witness her boys graduate with degrees from the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University.

Oldest brother Richie, 30, enrolled for a Bachelor of Dance Studies and completed his degree first, but had been too busy to attend a graduation ceremony until now.

Middle brother Andrew, 25, had just one paper left to complete when he was offered an overseas contract, so came back to finish his degree last year.

The youngest sibling Josh, finished his degree in between being the director of the IDentity Dance Company (ID Co), a successful Hip Hop group that had six dance crews competing in the National championships recently.

All there brothers perform in ID Co. The successful group won silver in the mega crew division at the World Hip Hop Dance Championships in Las Vegas in 2014.

The brothers have all been dancing professionally since they were in their teens. Richie and Josh were recently in the movie Born to Dance and Andrew was the choreographer and lead dancer in last year’s X Factor.

The brothers say their university degrees have not only helped broaden their minds, introducing them to other forms of dance, but have also opening doors to future possibilities.